Where it's ALL about food!

The Nut Case

By Belly Bytes

Enter the nut case, where researchers have determined that nuts can be a healthful contribution to a well rounded diet.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first qualified health claim for nuts that states: "Scientific evidence suggests but does not prove that eating 1.5 ounces of most nuts, such as almonds, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease". Research studies supporting the heart heatlh benefits of almonds were among the strongest submitted for the claim.

Researchers have determined that nuts - used in moderation -
can make beneficial contributions to a healthful diet. Nuts
provide many of the same nutrients as other protein sources,
like meat and poultry, but without the saturated fat.

There is new evidence that unsaturated fats -- found in foods
such as nuts, vegetable oils and fish -- can lower the risk of
several chronic diseases. Studies have shown significant drops
in cholesterol when people add walnuts, almonds, pistachios,
peanuts, or other nuts to their diets. (Peanuts are technically
legumes but are eaten like nuts and have similar nutrition.)
In addition to mono- and polyunsaturated fats, nuts contain
vitamin E, protein, magnesium, potassium and dietary
fiber - all potential cancer-fighting substances.

The key to including nuts in your diet is moderation. Nuts
are concentrated in calories, so be sure you cut back on other
foods and watch portions. A serving of nuts is a scant handful.
The cholesterol drops in the new research studies usually
involved substituting three servings of nuts for other foods
each day.

Nuts should be exchanged for foods with a similar number of
calories. For example, instead of serving broccoli with
2-teaspoons of butter, saute cooked broccoli in 1-teaspoon
of olive oil and sprinkle it with a tablespoon of chopped nuts.

You get a lot of bang for your buck with a nut. A handful of
nuts, which can be quite satisfying, is a better snack than
chips or high-fat crackers made with hydrogenated oils. And
nuts can replace some of the meat or cheese as the protein
in salads and stir-fries. Spiced nuts are a good, filling
snack. The flavor of most nuts benefits from a light toasting
(as in the first recipe below).

Peanut Pleasure: High Energy Content

Add peanuts to your diet!

Peanuts with their high energy content are rich in E and B complex vitamins and the following minerals.

They are also cholesterol free, containing polyunsaturated or "good" oils.

Many nutritionists are convinced the excess calories in nuts will do your diet no harm due to their beneficial properties.

Nuts for Diabetes Prevention?

Those who consumed nuts at least five times a week had a 30-percent
lower risk of diabetes than those who almost never ate nuts. It is not clear
whether nuts lower the risk of diabetes because they are high in magnesium,
unsaturated fats, or fiber or whether something else about nut-eaters lowers
their risk. It is worth adding small servings of nuts to your diet. Just keep
in mind that they are calorie dense, so you cannot eat them without removing
something else.

The author's of the study suggest cutting out some refined
grains and red meat and replacing it with nuts. You will get 150 to 185
calories in a one-ounce serving of dry-roasted nuts. That is just 22 almonds,
three tablespoons of cashews, 28 peanuts, 47 pistachios or 1 walnut halve.

If you love nuts and want to put them back into your diet, by all means do so. Just watch the amount you consume and try to limit your intake to an ounce or two a day. How much is that? Following is a chart to help you determine an ounce of various nuts.

Nuts by the Ounce

Type of Nut

# of Nuts in 1-ounce

Calories

Almonds

22

170

Brazil nuts

6 to 8

185

Cashews

18

160

Hazelnuts

20

175

Macadamias

10 to 12

200

Peanuts

18

165

Pecan halves

20

200

Pistachios (shelled)

47

160

Walnut halves

14

185

Cracking Nuts Tip

To crack alot of nuts at one time, place them in a towel or pillow case and gently hammer them until cracked.

Nut Trivia

Antonio Gentile: Nuts. The year: 1916. A Virginia goober company was looking for an indelible image for its logo. So, they held a public contest. A 14-year-old boy named Antonio Gentile won $5 (that's somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 in today's money) for his drawing of a peanut with arms and legs. The company: Planter's Nut and Chocolate Company. The advertising icon: Mr. Peanut.

There are a couple recipes below that contain a somewhat high amount of butter; however, remember that these snacks are much more filling and satisfying, with much less food than other snack foods. In addition, butter has no trans-fat as does margarine, so keep this in mind when deciding which you prefer. In most of the recipes, you can substitute Smart Balance for the butter as well. Enjoy!

Cashews

Cashews are the darlings of the snack world because they are lower in fat than other nuts, higher in protein, and addictively delicious. You know you love them, but did you know this about them?

Cashews are native to the coastal regions of northeastern Brazil.

The cashew nut is actually the kidney-shaped seed that sits at the bottom of the cashew apple, a delicacy in Brazil and the Caribbean, where the fruit grows prolifically.

Cashews are always sold shelled. Why? Because the interior of the cashew shell contains a caustic resin known as cashew balm, which is carefully removed before nuts are packaged for human consumption. This resin is used to make insecticides and varnishes.

Cashew’s scientific name is Anacardium occidentale.

Cashews belong to the same family as the pistachio and mango.

In the 16th century, Portuguese explorers took cashew trees from Brazil and introduced them to other tropical countries, including India and Africa.

Currently, the leading commercial providers of cashews are Brazil, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Nigeria.